Ikigai Restaurant

We had an absolutely amazing meal at Ikigai! I highly recommend the beef tongue but everything we had was delicious. Also take some time to look at the knives that are on display. Chef Nobel sourced Japanese chefs knives of all styles and restores them. We ended up buying 7 of them and he is having them delivered to us sharpened and honed and ready to use including a chefs knife that is over 100 years old and hand forged in Japan. Between the food and the knives, I think this may have been my favorite stop on my latest trip to chiang mai and a restaurant we plan to frequent when we are there. We did not have anything to eat that was not absolutely delicious (my mom loved the mushroom soup) and the menu truly encompasses the theory and belief of ikigai. I cannot say enough good things about this spot or chef Nobel. Highly recommend. If I could give more than 5 stars I would :)

Thank you James, Note, Boat and all of the other staff at Ikigai. The food was fantastic, the order of serving dishes was perfect, starting from very fresh and light, to more rich dishes. It's very clear that a lot of thought and choice went into the selection and order of dishes. Whilst I don't personally have any dietary restrictions, I noticed the food at other tables was adapted to suit every person's requirements. My only complaint is that my stomach wasn't big enough to fit more food! The price was 900 baht for as much as you can eat, which is fantastic value for money given the quality of the food. If I could give 6 stars out of 5 I would, sadly google won't let me! Oh and by the way James if you read the full review, mai mee tong sia.

I came in the lunch of 29/11. The restaurant has a one 900 baht menu - the chef will send you many dishes until you’re full. And then they serve dessert the dishes that I had: - Tofu 5/10 - Oysters 2/10 (didn’t taste fresh) - House salad 0/10 (most normal salad you could hope for) - Tandoori broccoli 6/10 - Chicken pate 1/10 (taste was bad and too big - cannot finish this and still eat lot more) - Sour chicken soup 6/10 (ok taste but too big again) - Roast pork (3/10) the local Thai restaurants get it way better and more crispy - Green pea guacamole (2/10) - Hummus (2/10) - Codfish 5/10 - Pork sausage beans 7/10 - the one I tasted more flavour surprisingly - Salmon 3/10 (no taste of salmon and to be honest I had no clue how they managed to make it bad) - Seabass (5/10) came in the end, was ok but I would never order it again Desert: - lemon/honey 8/10: best thing of the menu - Sweet bread or somethin 4/10: taste was not there I’m going to be very honest - I didn’t finish most of the initial portions because they were just too big. If you actually finish everything you will stop in the 3/4 and pay 900 baht to eat salad, soup and Bread with pate. None of the dishes were surprising or actually good. They look beautiful - but the taste is just not there. I was deeply disappointed because the reviews were great and my expectations were high. But I went out full (after so many dishes) and unhappy with the experience. The staff were great and the ambience is nice. If you are living in Chiang mai and want to try it - I would recommend maybe coming in a day where you can actually choose the dish and not the long lunch format. Maybe they will have it better when you come. If you are visiting - I would not recommend to come. There are greater and cheaper restaurants in Chiang mai. As a food lover I believe restaurants can improve. I hope this one does and I can come back one day and surprise myself!